2025 Fall College Baseball Reset: West Virginia

It’s been a strong couple of seasons for the West Virginia baseball program. The Mountaineers hit the Super Regionals each of the last two years, cementing the school as a Big 12 power. There will be a lot of fresh faces in 2026, thanks to pro departures and an active summer in the transfer portal.

The Returnees

West Virginia had a strong season, thanks in large part to their pitching. The Mountaineers lost quite a few pitchers who were important to their team after the 2025 campaign. However, Chase Meyer is back.

Meyer, the 20-year-old junior, walked a lot of batters (38 over 48) last season but struck out 63 for West Virginia. The righty worked mainly out of the bullpen in 2025.

Aside from Meyer, the Mountaineers bring back several other pitchers, including redshirt freshman JD Costanzo, sophomore David Hagan, as well as JJ Glasscock, Mac Stiffler, and Bryant Yoak.

Moving to the offense, Armani Guzman returned for his junior season. Guzman had a big year overall, as he slashed .327/.403/.449 (.852 OPS), and then .361 in the Northwoods League during summer ball.

Grad student Brodie Kresser and sophomore Gavin Kelly are among the other returning regulars.

The Newcomers

West Virginia worked the transfer portal in the summer of 2024, as the Mountaineers added Jace Rinehart from USC Upstate. The move proved to be fruitful, as Rinehart hit .320 and tied Kyle West for the team lead in total bases (110).

Both Rinehart and West, along with others, are gone. Heading into 2025, West Virginia will have some new faces.

Brock Wills, who hit .351 with UNC Wilmington last year and spent parts of two seasons in the Cape (2023-24), is arguably the biggest addition to the program via the transfer portal.

Another new addition is Matthew Graveline, formerly of Ohio State University. Graveline hit .282 with 10 home runs for the Buckeyes in 2025, then hit .244 in the MLB Draft League with Williamsport.

Sean Smith came over from Georgia Southern. Smith hit .352 with nine home runs and is a career .339 hitter in Division 1.

Paul Schoenfeld, a fifth-year player, hit .420 with Colorado Mesa in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (Division II), is also another one of those veteran additions.

As for the pitching, Dawson Montesa came over from Division II power Adelphi University. Montesa struck out 105 over 72 innings in the 2025 campaign, then pitched very well (one HR allowed, 21 K over 16 IP) in summer ball with the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Those players will be needed to replace those who left after 2025. Sam White (Blue Jays) and Kyle West (Yankees) both went pro, as did Griffin Kirn (Athletics) and Robby Porco (Dodgers).

Jack Kartsonas, who played five seasons across three schools, is also no longer with the Mountaineers.

Twelve new freshmen also litter the fall roster heading into 2026. David Perez, a two-way player who was hitting the mid-90s with his velocity as a high schooler, is among that group. So was Zahir Barjam, who can hit the ball hard.

Summary

West Virginia has been a true success story over the last decade. Not only does the Mountaineers have a state-of-the-art facility that once moonlit as a Minor League ballpark but has also produced premium pro talent & Major Leaguers.

However, in this new age of college baseball, the Mountaineers have been able to keep up with the powers in the college scene by not just recruiting but also finding gems in the transfer portal.

Between Rinehart and Kartsonas, West Virginia was able to do that in the past. Now, with a fresh class of new incoming players, the task for Steve Sabins will be to piece everything together.